Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR UK) condemns in the strongest terms the horrifying images recently leaked of Libyan Member of Parliament Ibrahim Al-Darsi, who has been forcibly disappeared for over a year. The footage shows Al-Darsi held in a small cell, chained by the neck, bearing visible signs of torture, and appearing to plead under duress with commanders in eastern Libya, most notably Khalifa Haftar and his son Saddam.
This is the first verified visual evidence monitored and documented by international media and human rights organisations confirming that Al-Darsi, who enjoys full parliamentary immunity, was abducted in Benghazi in May 2024 for his political views and criticism of the Haftar family’s dominance over reconstruction efforts and state institutions in eastern Libya.
AOHR UK stresses that this is not an isolated incident, but rather a part of a systematic policy adopted by the authorities controlling eastern Libya to silence any dissenting voice, even if it came from within parliament itself.
The brutal treatment of an elected MP and his disappearance for an entire year without trial or official acknowledgement of his detention constitutes a grave international crime, rising to the level of crimes against humanity that do not expire with time. All those involved in planning, ordering, executing, concealing, or covering up this crime must be held accountable.
The responses from the internationally recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli, the Presidential Council, and the Libyan Human Rights Committee have all underscored the severity of the crime and the magnitude of the violation. In contrast, the reaction from militias in eastern Libya, led by the Internal Security Agency in Benghazi, was a blatant attempt to deny and mislead by casting doubt on the authenticity of the footage and alleging it was fabricated by artificial intelligence. This reflects a brazen contempt for the intelligence of both the Libyan public and the international community.
It is more alarming that the parties suspected of detaining Al-Darsi are the very same entities that control the security apparatus and the public prosecution in eastern Libya. This renders the accused party the one supposedly responsible for investigation, which completely eliminates any hope for a fair and transparent domestic accountability process.
This crime highlights the political, military, and logistical support granted to the de facto authorities in eastern Libya by regional and international powers, especially the United Arab Emirates and the Egyptian regime. These states have directly contributed to consolidating Haftar’s power and entrenching his grip on the region as an unchallengeable reality.
The continued impunity and breach of international law would not have been possible without the overt or tacit support of external actors who have turned Libya into a battleground for proxy conflicts and power struggles at the expense of the dignity and basic rights of the Libyan people.
AOHR UK affirms that the case of Ibrahim Al-Darsi is a real test for the international community. A repeat of the fate of MP Siham Sergiwa, who was abducted from Benghazi in 2019 and still missing to this day, must not be allowed, especially amid the deafening silence of the de facto authorities.
AOHR UK urgently calls on the United Nations, the Security Council, and the International Criminal Court to launch an immediate, independent and transparent investigation into the abduction and torture of MP Ibrahim Al-Darsi, and to include his case among those pursued by the ICC in Libya, including military and political leaders in eastern Libya and their regional and international backers who must also be brought to justice.
AOHR UK further calls on all Libyan national forces and members of the Libyan House of Representatives to break their silence, reveal the truth and stop the growing phenomenon of political arrests and enforced disappearances, used as tools of repression used to eliminate opposition.
